This Lifetime's Promise
by steph2009
Summary: Sometimes, Vanille felt as though she really had known Hope in another lifetime. Maybe somehow, when they had been reincarnated into this life, their souls had found one another again. So, it was only natural that they have a promise to suite this lifetime too. Only this time, it's Hope who makes it and it's up to Vanille to remind him of it. (Note: Hope is 14).


**This Lifetime's Promise**

**Disclaimer:** The Final Fantasy XIII trilogy does not belong to me.

**Summary: **Sometimes, Vanille felt as though she _really had_ known Hope in another lifetime. She clicked with him in a way that different from Fang or any of the others. It was almost as she had fought with him before, been friends with him before. Maybe somehow, when they had been reincarnated into this life, their souls had found one another again. So, it was only natural that they have a promise to suite this lifetime too. Only this time, it's Hope who makes it and it's up Vanille to remind him of it.

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><p>Sometimes, Vanille felt as though she <em>really had<em> known Hope in another lifetime. She clicked with him in a way that different from Fang or any of the others. It was almost as she had fought alongside him before, been friends with him before. A friendship with him seemed instinctual whereas with the others it was a learning process. Even with Fang, she had to learn her styles, her temperaments. It wasn't this instantaneous. Maybe somehow, when they had been reincarnated into this life, their souls had found one another again.

_'So,'_ Vanille thought with a small giggle, _'does that mean we're soul-mates?' _She looked over at the boy as he sat beside her on the long cushioned bench. His eyes were fixed on the pages of his darkly covered book. She took this moment to study him, to pay attention to the changes the centuries had brought him. _'Somehow boy doesn't seem to fit him anymore…' _She thought as she took in the way his green eyes held a maturity they hadn't before. He had been serious before, but now he seemed even more so. '_Would he play along with me now?_' She wondered fleetingly before the answer came to her. He would; it was an answer she knew to be true deep in her soul. He would play along with her simply to make her happy, to make her smile. She grinned.

They had been in this new world for all of a month. After the initial settling in, all of the old gang and the newer additions like Yeul and Noel had gravitated toward one another again. Serah and Snow were set to be getting married in two months. So everyone was going to stick around until then. She smiled happily. Lightning and Serah had settled down in homes right next to one another. Hope had settled not too far from them. He was just down the street from the Farron sisters. It was at his house they were all gathered now. Everyone had wanted to get to know the older Esthiems and it seemed like that want was returned. As she looked at Hope, the sudden rush of wanting to thank Nora and Bartholomew swept through her. She wanted to thank them for bringing this young man into the world, to thank them for raising him so beautifully; but they were locked in their own moment at the end of the porch, just happily leaning against one another. She turned her eyes back Hope. The few weeks it had taken for her and Fang to settle in had been hell. She was happy to be back with Fang, but the unsaid things that had been left between Hope and her kept rising back into her head. She wanted to ask him why he had never surrendered to Alyssa's advances, why he kept looking for a way to wake them, why he kept waiting. But more importantly, she wanted to know if what he said that night at the bottom of the crystal pillar had been true.

_Vanille could pick up the sounds of Hope's approach before she could see him. Excitement rushed through her. Though the crystal prevented her movement, or even her speech, she was still here. In spirit form. She spun to face him. He visited them often, just speaking as if they could answer. Each time the beauty of the man he had become took her by surprise. She smiled as he began to talk, encouraging him to say whatever was on his mind. _

"_I miss you, Vanille…Fang..." _

"_Oh sure!" She heard Fang's teasing huff, "I bet the kid just tacked me on so I wouldn't feel left out."_

"_Hush!" Vanille scolded._

"_The years have been pretty lonely without you. Serah disappeared ten years ago with some strange young man, Gadot said. They've died too. Gadot and the others. Monsters overcame them…Snow's still missing…hunting for Lightning…" Sadness swamped through her. 'He must be so lonely.' She thought, staring at the man as he shifted onto his left foot. "So, how about I make you a promise, Vanille? Like the one you said I did on that cliff side in Yaschas Massif, except this time—I'll remember it, so you remember it too, okay?" Vanille nodded even though she knew he couldn't see her. She heard Fang scoff quietly and mumble something that sounded along the lines of: 'why do I have to be here to witness this too?' "I promise, when you wake up, I'll do everything in my power to be there and I'll stay by your side, every day after that. And if I somehow break it, find me and remind me. I don't care how you do it. Just don't…forget about me, yeah?" _

'_You weren't there…'_ She thought sadly, recalling how she had searched for him almost frantically at first. Asking everyone that had been there if they had known him, _'when I did wake up…'_ She recalled eventually finding Noel in the bowels of the Warren. It was there and then that she had learned the truth. Even though Noel and Snow had searched everywhere for their companion, their fellow leader, he was nowhere to be found. He had simply vanished. She had lost hope, both the feeling and the man. She went back to the Cathedral and the ever loyal Fang had followed her. He turned the page; the sound of crinkling paper snapped her out the haze of dark emotions that threatened to overwhelm her. She looked up to see his eyes on her; one eyebrow raised questioningly. She smiled reassuringly, reminding herself that he was here now. _'Will you let me remind you of your promise now?' _

"Are you alright?" He asked her quietly as not to alert anyone that there may be something wrong with the young woman. Instead of answering, she curled her legs underneath her and shifted closer to him. Both because she wanted to be closer to him, just to reassure herself that he really was there, and to sneak a peek at what had captured his attention so thoroughly. He watched her with a small blush on his cheeks; she laid the forehead on his shoulder with a small smile. She looked at the pages of his book curiously. Science figures and words she didn't know the meaning to stared back up at her. She furrowed her brow and huffed. She lifted her head off of his shoulder and turned so she could lean against his arm as the sparring between Lightning and Fang captured her attention again. Lightning, she noticed, was beginning to wear Fang down. Neither were able to get in a direct hit against one another, each blocked before that could happen.

"Not to your liking, Vanille?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. She looked over her shoulder at him to see that his eyes had returned back to the book. A small, amused smile played at the corners of his mouth. Her own lips quirked into a smile.

"Maybe if you read it to me," she returned immediately, conscious of her teasing flirtation, as she nudged him. His bold green eyes shot up to meet her own lighter blue-green irises. Just as she had predicted, his cheeks flushed slightly.

"I doubt even then it would interest you," he muttered.

"You're probably right," she happily chirped. He chuckled quietly and returned his eyes back to the book. She leaned back against him again; her head dipping back to touch his gently as she closed her eyes. They stayed a few minutes like this; the silence between them was only broken by the sound of Lightning's staff hitting against Fang's as they sparred and turning pages. It would have been peaceful to her if it weren't for the rising question that danced on the tip of her tongue. "Hey, Hope?" She called quietly.

"Um hum…" He hummed in answer. She lifted her head off of his head and scooted around so that she faced him. He signed the page number to his memory and closed to book as she did so, sensing that this conversation would be an important one. He turned his full attention to her.

"Do you remember that promise you made me on Gran Pulse?" Confusion lit in his green eyes for a moment then realization chased it away. He smiled softly at her, a smile that she somehow knew was only for her.

"As if I would forget," he whispered back. "I'll stay by your side," he quoted himself quietly as he leaned his forehead against hers. Now, it was her turn to blush. He looked into her eyes as she into his as he repeated the rest of it, "every day after." Neither noticed that the sounds of the sparring had stopped as Fang noticed their closeness nor that his parents had turned to see why the two women had stopped fighting. All eyes were on them, but they only had eyes for one another. "If you'll let me."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," she returned without a beat. "I searched for you," she whispered pulling away from him. She turned her eyes to the wooden porch. "After I woke up." He reached out and grabbed her hand from where she had them clenched in her lap. She looked over at him at the touch.

"I'm sorry." He apologized softly as he laced their fingers. Vanille squeezed his hand and leaned her head against his shoulder again.

"It's okay," she forgave, "you didn't really have a choice after all."

"Yeah," he breathed needlessly as he leaned his head against hers. This intimacy was new between them, but there was no awkwardness. They hadn't talked about where they stood; that would come later just to confirm out loud what they felt inside. For the moment, they were content in their own little world. Oblivious to all around them.

"About freakin' time," Fang muttered as she leaned against the staff she had shoved against the grass. Her brown eyes were firmly fixed on Vanille and Hope.

"I'm surprised you're being so…calm about this," Lightning stated from beside her. Fang pushed off of her staff and looked at one of women she was proud to call her best friend.

"Well, I'm not so overprotective that I can't see this is a good thing," the words were pointed and sharp as the hint hit Lightning in the stomach. She looked away from Fang with a small huff.

"Low blow, Fang," she sniffed. "I'm not saying that I disapprove." She took in Hope's peaceful, happy expression. "I learned that lesson…" She muttered.

"Good, because I would hate to have to teach it to you again," Fang said as she jerked her staff from the ground and twirled it about. Lightning snorted.

"Like you could," she challenged. Fang's eyes narrowed playfully.

"Is that a challenge, Light?" She asked. Lightning just smirked. And just like that, they were at it again. Nora laughed softly as she watched the girls as she snuggled a little closer to her husband's side. His light, light brown eyes were focused on their son and the young redhead. She rolled her eyes and slapped his thigh gently. He turned those eyes back to her.

"Staring is rude," she told him. He shrugged one shoulder sheepishly and wrapped his arm around his wife's shoulders.

"So is tuning out the rest of the world," he returned with a pointed glance toward his son and the young woman. "Besides…isn't she a little old for him?"

"As opposed to a man chasing after a girl four years younger?" She reminded him with a teasing smile.

"That's different…" He grumbled.

"Is not," she contradicted, "you're just feeling nervous about it because it's the other way around and happening to your son." He huffed and rested his head against hers.

"Let's just see how it goes," he muttered. Nora smiled and glanced toward the couple on the bench. She was certain it would be something she would enjoy watching immensely. Her son, already so grown up, was about to go through the most difficult, time-consuming, yet rewarding trial yet: a_ romantic _relationship. And now, she would get to be there. Every step of the way.


End file.
